WWF Royal Rumble for Dreamcast

WWF Royal Rumble is the first World Wrestling Federation-licensed game to come out for the Dreamcast since Acclaim's WWF Attitude arrived last year. THQ and Yuke's, the same combination behind the hit WWF SmackDown! for PlayStation, deliver this arcade wrestlefest for the Dreamcast, boasting a lineup of over 20 WWF superstars and promising some insane action with up to nine wrestlers in the ring at once. Can WWF Royal Rumble lay the Smackdown on the competition, or does this game deserve a Stinkface from Rikishi? Let's investigate and find out...

Graphically, the first thing that you'll notice (after the great FMV intro) is that the game resembles the aforementioned WWF SmackDown!, but in much higher resolution, with great texture, arena, and wrestler detail. From the People's Eyebrow to Rikishi's butt-slapping, the WWF atmosphere is pretty well-represented. Yes, there can be up to nine wrestlers in the ring at once, and there is little to no slowdown even with all of that activity. Special moves, such as the Rock Bottom, Triple H's Pedigree, and Big Show's Showstopper are animated well, complete with some cool motion blur effects not generally seen on the Dreamcast console. The other moves are animated well, but may seem a bit stiff at times. Other than the ring, matches can take place in other venues, such as the boiler room or the kitchen, complete with random weaponry to assault your opponent with. Is that legal? Heck, yeah! While the graphics are functional, they don't seem overly inspired and certainly are not groundbreaking. There aren't any entrances for the superstars either, and this may also disppoint some fans.

WWF Royal Rumble, like WWF SmackDown! before it, suffers greatly in the sound department. There isn't any commentary, and other than the referee counting 1-2-3, there isn't any other voice, for that matter... no sampled speech from any of the WWF superstars, either. The sound effects get the job done, but are far from impressive. One effect that sticks out is the constant sound of the thumping of feet as they walk within the ring, and it gets old... fast. The music is nothing to write home about either, although it is considerably better than it was in WWF SmackDown!, quality-wise. Sound seems to be a weak link in a lot of THQ's WWF efforts, and this will hopefully be remedied as technology improves. Acclaim still has the best overall sound for a WWF game with WWF War Zone, and no one else has come close.

As long as fans keep in mind that WWF Royal Rumble is an arcade game at its core rather than a simulation, this game has a lot to offer, especially when there's multi-player action going on; however, if you're looking for more simulation, like with WWF SmackDown! or WWF Wrestlemania 2000 (N64), you're probably going to want to rent this first as there aren't any simulation aspects at all... no season mode, no create-a-wrestler, no character building. This game is all about giving your opponent(s) a good beating. The play control is reminiscent of SmackDown!'s, with specific buttons for attacking and grappling, as well as a dedicated button for pulling off signature moves. WWF Royal Rumble also introduces double-teaming during its exhibition mode, and the game pulls it off pretty well. When you select your wrestler, you also select a backup; however, he is not a tag-team partner. He comes in when summoned to double-team, toss you a weapon, save you from a pinfall, or devastate your opponent with his signature move. Players can summon his partner for these options by simple button combinations, and the system works well. In order to pull off signature moves yourself, you need to build up your special meter to earn "S" icons... these "S" icons can be used singularly to power up moves or get out of dangerous pinfalls, or if you accumulate three of them, you can pull off your signature move by pressing your R-trigger and being with striking distance of your opponent. If your drain your opponent's energy meter with this move, it's possible to knock him out to win without a pin. During the exhibition mode, you move up a ladder of nine opponents (and their highly random partners) until you reach the final stage and a match with the Chairman himself, Mr. Vince "Grapefruits" McMahon and his son, Shane.

Royal Rumble mode is an entirely different experience, and will test your skills. Unlike Exhibition mode, where you win by pin or knockout, the only way to eliminate opponents is by tossing them over the top rope. As if this isn't difficult enough, a new opponent enters the fray every so often so that up to nine wrestlers can be competing at once. It becomes very difficult to focus your attention on one opponent when three of four others decide to gang up on you. Although this seems very chaotic, that's part of the fun. This is where WWF Royal Rumble's arcade roots come into play, because there is a lot of button-mashing and not a lot of time for strategy. To be honest, I haven't made it to the end of a Royal Rumble yet, but it can be an arduous process as you can have up to 99 wrestlers (obviously a lot of repeats) participate.

Fans of WWF SmackDown! or WWF Wrestlemania 2000 may initially enjoy this game, but their interest may quickly diminish once the arcade-induced adrenaline rush wears off. Arcade fans, meanwhile, will feel right at home, as the control scheme is relatively easy to learn and the game is flat out fun to play. Other than a couple of hidden characters, there's not a lot else to uncover here, and the game somehow feels slightly hollow after a while. There are several big names missing (Chris Benoit being one) and there isn't an option for female characters; nonetheless, WWF Royal Rumble is a decent effort that could have been a but better with more time. As it stands, the game suffers the same fate as several other Dreamcast titles that have been rushed to stores have endured, such as World Series Baseball 2K1... this one could have been better, but I've played far worse.